Woman found in car hanging from hedge

A slurring drink-driver told emergency services she was puzzled why they had been called – even though her car was hanging precariously from a hedge.

Jacqueline Clark was almost three times the drink-driving limit when she crashed on the B9022 between Huntly and Portsoy on July 4.

Banff Sheriff Court heard how the 58-yearold was found in her car by a fellow motorist near the junction for Portsoy at around 9.50pm.

Fiscal depute Ellen Barr said a witness came across debris on the road as well as Clark’s car, which the court was told was “lodged in a hedge”.

Miss Barr said: “He stopped and saw her within the vehicle and managed to help her out.

“He could smell alcohol and saw her struggling as she attempted to walk.”

Police and fire crews were called as the car was

“hanging in a precarious position and deemed unsafe to move,” the court was told.

Despite this, Clark failed to understand why they had been called.

The fiscal added: “A fire chief spoke to her and noted her speech was slurred.

“Police then spoke to her, at which point she said she didn’t understand why emergency services were present as nobody had died.”

Clark admitted driving with an alcohol breath reading of 64mcg in 100ml, the legal limit being 22.

Sheriff Robert McDonald banned Clark, of Gordon Crescent in Portsoy, from the road for 12 months and fined her £420.

Both punishments were reduced from 18 months and £600 respectively, in light of her guilty plea.